Why Race Matters: LatCrit Theory and Latina/o Racial Identity

Latinas/os are a force to be reckoned with, and we now require our own room in the "Master's House."' Yet, we must not forget it is the "Master's House," and we are constrained by the basic home rule that is White supremacy. Latinas/os are not exempt from the oppression of White supremacy, yet, as a group or individually, we often are seduced into thinking we are White. Latinas/os must be vigilant to avoid the seduction of Whiteness. And we, Latinas/os, more than other groups of color, are vulnerable to the seduction of whiteness. We carry the desire for Whiteness, inscribed on our souls, from Latin America and transported across the border or from our neighborhoods where our parents and generations before have lived. Latinos/as, more than others, are seduced by Whiteness because we are not called Black, we are not even identified as a race--at least not officially. We are seduced by whiteness because we do not see that the foundation of the Master's House, the Black-White paradigm, includes the racialization of our language, our culture, our history. We must see Tenemos que ver.